4 Key Tips for Adjusting to Life With a Pacemaker

Ideally, you want your heart to beat about 60-100 times per minute in a steady rhythm to keep oxygen and blood flowing throughout your body. For millions of Americans, this isn’t happening because of a heart arrhythmia, which is a condition in which the heart beats irregularly. Up to five out of 100 Americans have an arrhythmia, and the most common type is atrial fibrillation, which affects at least 10 million adults in the United States. 

These numbers go a long way toward explaining why up to 3 million Americans live with a pacemaker, which helps to regulate cardiac rhythms.

If board-certified cardiologist Dr. Satjit Bhusri and the team at Upper East Side Cardiology feel that you can benefit from a pacemaker as part of an overall preventive cardiology program, here are some great tips for adjusting to this treatment.

A quick look at the pacemaker

Before we dive into strategies for adjusting to life with a pacemaker, let’s quickly review what this potentially life-saving device accomplishes in improving your heart health.

When you have an arrhythmia, your heart isn’t pumping blood in a steady rhythm, which leaves you far more vulnerable to heart attack and stroke. This is often due to issues with your sinus node, which is your heart's natural pacemaker — it emits electrical impulses that cause the chambers of your heart to contract.

To establish a safer rhythm in your heart so that blood flows through and doesn't stall, we implant a pacemaker. These devices have sensors that detect when your heart rate is too slow, too fast, or irregular. It emits electric impulses to encourage a better rhythm.

Another device that we often use is an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which shocks your heart back into a normal rhythm when there's an issue.

Life with a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator

Now let’s get into some tips for living with an implantable device that regulates your heart’s rhythm.

The good news is that there isn’t much that you need to do, except we do recommend:

1. Getting a medical card

There are more security measures than ever, and we want to make sure you carry a medical card wherever you go so that you can bypass any security that may interfere with your pacemaker. 

Metal detectors, etc., can interfere with function, but your pacemaker may also cause a detector to sound off, so you’ll need the card for either scenario, and we’re happy to get that set up for you.

1. See us regularly

When we first implant your pacemaker, we set it up based on your medical history and your needs. Quite often, we go in afterward and adjust your pacemaker to make sure it’s doing its job well. This means you need to see us regularly to make sure that the pacemaker is working well, especially in the first year.

Once we find the right settings, you’ll visit us less frequently, but still at least annually.

1. Watch certain electronics

Some electronics can potentially interfere with your pacemaker, such as:

• Cell phones
• Microwave ovens
• Electric blankets
• Certain medical treatments, such as MRIs and TENS treatments

The best way to figure out what might interfere with your pacemaker is to pay attention to any functionality issues that occur when you’re near certain equipment (and go away when you go farther away). 

We urge you to report any issues so that we can discuss how to use electronics safely when you have a pacemaker.

1. Follow upgrades

Pacemakers are becoming more advanced in their technology, allowing more remote programming capabilities, longer battery lives, and protection against hacking. We want you to pay attention to software updates and make sure that you're using the latest firmware.

Of course, we can do this in person when you come visit us so that you can make sure you understand the technology and how to use it best.

There are other tips that we can provide, but we’d prefer to customize them to your exact needs and goals. Rest assured, we’re with you every step of the way as you navigate your pacemaker journey so you’re not alone in figuring it all out.

If you have more questions about living with a pacemaker, please don't hesitate to contact our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Call our team at 212-752-3464 or request information online.